Picture if you will

This weekend was fun but I forgot to take my camera so you'll have to just use your imaginations on this one. Friday Amanda (Miss Southern Belle) sent me an email on Facebook asking if I wanted to go to Swiss Days in Midway with her. This was perfect because I was trying to convince Ry to take us to Park City on Saturday to ride the Alpine Coaster. I came up with the master plan of meeting Amanda in Provo, going to Swiss Days with her, sleeping over at her house and then Ryan would meet me in Heber on Saturday. Swiss Days were fun and Amanda played the dulcimer while I yodeled. For dinner, Amanda and I had a sausage, sauerkraut, swiss bread and a scone. The scone was delicious. What is better than fried dough with butter, honey and sugar on it? On our way out we walked by the pie and ice cream booth and I decided I had to have some of that also. Amanda, and other people walking by, were laughing at the enormous scoop of ice cream I got. I think it was half the tub of ice cream. Still, we weren't done and then headed to the Maverick for some chips and pop. Let's just say both Amanda and I were (literally) filled with remorse in the morning. We also were very tired because we stayed up late in our nighties having tickle fights.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to TJ Maxx in Park City. They have a really good one there if you are ever up that way. I bought a couple of work out pants because it's getting colder in the morning when I run. BTW all that running does nothing when you eat 6,000 calories in one night. As we were leaving TJ Maxx, Lydia threw a huge tantrum because she didn't get all three purses she was carrying around the store. Man, that brought me back and I had to smile. I will give Lydia this, she is a very good screamer. Amanda and Mark should be proud. I then met Ryan and the girls at the Park City Resort and we paid an ungodly amount of money to ride the coaster, which was fun. We had dinner at a great Mexican place, The Loco Lizard, out on the patio. Grace told Hanna at one point that she had a spider in her hair so Hanna jumped up and started dancing around while hitting her head. They're nothing if not entertaining.

Ryan spotted some scooters he wanted to check out in Orem so we stopped at a couple of places to look. Ryan has always had a dream of owning a Vespa or Lambretta but we've never had the money or it's not seemed practical. He's experiencing a tiny mid-life crisis, so I think it's time he got his longed for scooter. We found that we both really liked the Stella but we're holding off until we figure out what's going on with our house/life. When we do get one, we're going to chrome it out and Ryan will get to live out his Mod dreams.

I got my haircut and it's nothing special

I made a big deal about getting something different and then basically did the same thing. I think the bangs would have irritated me, so I opted for some shorter side bangs. I think this might be the last time I see my stylist Chad. It's too hard and expensive to drive to Sugarhouse. If I ever go short again I'll go back to him because I thought he did a great job with my short hair and I trust him. I was messing around with Photobooth today and created a series that I'll call "The Many Moods of Shea's Hair."

My signature thumbs up pose but you can't see the thumbs.

Me being contemplative.

This is what I look like when I'm typing!

I'm looking at the huge Diet Pepsi Ryan brought home for me and feeling happy.

What would happen if Jay Leno and Ted Kennedy had a baby. Ryan and I tried to think of people with big heads and Ryan came up with Ted Kennedy. Good one Ry.

Hanna doing a back bend

No, Hanna is not the child who took gymnastics for a year. Poor inflexible Gracie.

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Evie's birthday

Tomorrow is Evie's second birthday. It really is hard to believe it's been two years since my life changed so dramatically. I was thinking about what I was going to post while driving in the car today and I thought of two words that pretty much sum up what happened two years ago...SUCKS HARD. I know that is some eloquent writing but those are the first two words that came to mind. In some really dark moments I used to wish that everyone would experience what we went through but now I know I don't wish that nightmare on anyone. No one deserves to hear that their child will die. I think I've come a long way in two years though. I can talk about her without crying (maybe just tearing up a bit) and I don't think about her every day. If I do think about her, it's not as painful as it used to be. I honestly don't really know what to think about her or the situation at times. Sometimes I find it hard to believe it really happened, that after four miscarriages we finally get our daughter only to have it all go so wrong. I know many have suffered much worse but when it happens to you, it seems like you're being singled out and punished. I don't talk much about the spiritual aspects of her gestation/birth/life or how I've grown or regressed spiritually since because it's much too personal. I will just say that I'm not the same person I was before I had Evie and I don't know if that's a good thing. But tomorrow we celebrate her birth because she is a part of our family and we love her. I'm glad I got to see her move and breath. I only wish she could have been with us here every day because there is nothing worse than not being able to watch a child grow up. It breaks my heart. I wrote Evie's story down when I got home from the hospital while everything was fresh. I wrote this after she was born and we were alone holding her.

"I feel so much peace and love while the three of us sit here together. I know you are nearer to God than we’ll ever be."

Maybe this is why Ryan doesn't send me flowers

One of my favourite Cheers moments.

What my dreams have been telling me

Will Ferrell and I are destined to be together. He's a good dancer and kisser. See you later Ryan!

The end of the world is near and we need to get some food storage.Ichiban and Shreddies are not going to sustain us!

There is a woman in my neighbourhood who doesn't like me. Before we move I'm to confront her and say, "So what's your problem with me?" I'll also say what I should have said six years ago, "Sometimes people in wheelchairs might run into a wall now and then and not on purpose, so give them a break."

I'm supposed to invent a new kind of moss that is yellow instead of green. Now that was an exciting dream!

"It's just that I find Gene's cowbell playing distracting!"

Back to school

I tried to think of a better title for this post but I've got a cold and that makes brain dumber. The girls went back to school today and I went back to work. I was promptly told to go home and not come back until after Labour Day. They don't have enough for us to do until they evaluate the kids. Don't they know I can look busy for five hours easy? I had a lot of practice working for the Town of Magrath.

Grace picked this entire outfit out on her own. This really reflects Grace's style which she describes as "rockstar".

Hanna's shirt says, "Save the earth, ride a horse." This is me giving up some control.

I'm glad my kids like going back to school.

It's not cool for parents to take pictures of second graders in the classroom.

I took this one just to piss her off.

Me imitating Grace in my classroom.

The pussy cat with four ears

Karen's Christmas present.

I'm going to LOOOOSE it!

I don't know if it's anxiety over selling/buying a house but I'm so ready for my kids to be out of the house and at school. I think it's 98% anxiety and 2% kids bugging me. I know it's not a very "good mom" thing to say about your own kids but I've spent every day all summer with them so it's not like I'm neglectful. The thing that is driving me today is Grace's cough. She's had allergies and the drainage has given her a cough. What's annoying is that every cough sounds like a forced, fake cough. I have a thing where repetitive noises sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to me and this cough is just like that. I just told them both they have to go outside because secretly if I hear that cough one more time I think my head might implode. Ahh that's the stuff, silence.

Ryan and I have a meeting tonight with a realtor for Ivory Homes. We found a lot we both really liked in east Lehi and we're hoping that the horrible economy will be on our side when it comes to a building price. I know we haven't sold our existing house yet but I'm hoping that my excitement to build will fill the universe with house selling positive energy. Also we've lowered the price. We drove out to the lot yesterday evening so Ryan could see it for the first time and were immediately approached by a couple of neighborhood women. I have a hard time with people in Utah assuming everyone is Mormon or if they aren't Mormons, then they are somehow less desirable. The women were very friendly but immediately started talking about the ward (church for those who aren't familiar with Mormon culture) and how great the bishop was. They then asked "You're LDS aren't you?" I guess it's a good thing we are. I asked them about the people living in the house to the east of us and they said they were a very nice Asian (at least they didn't say oriental) couple who owned a Chinese restaurant in American Fork. "Oh, but they aren't LDS." SAY WHAA?! There it was, the thing I was hoping they wouldn't say. Maybe this is an unfair comparison but what if they had said "Oh, but they aren't white."

Pictures of cute deer

My parents have a extended family of deer on their property and it seems to get bigger every year. Last year there were twin fawns and this year there were three fawns. There isn't anything much more cute than a baby deer. Ryan and I watched one of the fawns playing with her mom one evening. He kept running circles around her, while she calmly grazed on the grass. It reminded me of how I ignore my kids when they're being nuts.

The deer family. It was hard to get them all together but you get the idea.

That's right, I'm watching you deer.

I wouldn't drink that if I were you. Birds poop in it.

I wonder if the detour annoys Gary Coleman as much as it does me?

I was driving to get gas for the lawn mower this evening, when I happened to pass Gary Coleman driving home. I wonder if having to drive an extra 5 miles out of his way everyday annoys him also? I see Gary as having a bit of a temper so I'm thinking it does. When I saw him it reminded me of a conversation I overheard the girls having the other day.

"They said in school that you don't have to use a booster seat after you're eight."

"You do because Gary Coleman uses a booster seat."

"No he doesn't! That's mean Grace."

"He does, Daddy said he does! It's because he is little."

"Well, I doubt it's a booster seat like ours."

It put this image in my mind of Gary getting into his car and buckling into his booster seat. Now I want to get a glimpse of his booster seat and see if it is just like the one the girls have or if he has some secret ninja seat.

Thoughts from the last twenty-four hours

There is no way that Chinese girl is sixteen. If she's sixteen then I'm going to be twenty-one.

That Phelps has one fancy body but the face isn't doing much for me. He needs a head transplant because I won't marry him unless he fixes that.

Must stay awake. Must see if U.S. continues to stumble like drunken sailors.

Dressage? Who knew?

Look at these athletes! I'm such a puss.

Running hurts and I think I'm getting fatter instead of skinnier.

Our house is NEVER going to sell. Arson might be the answer.

Why do my kids ask so many questions? School is looking like a welcome relief. I'm a bad mom.

Why do I have dog pooh on my yard when I don't have a dog?

Why are some people so crazy?

If I have to drive this detour much longer I might have to take some construction worker's lives.

Brain hurts.

I'm wanting to change my blog design again because the brown is putting me in a bad mood. You'd think my husband who has a degree in graphic design would help me but he now seems to hate everything computers. Does anyone know of any free template sights or somewhere that can show me how to use Photoshop to make my own? That sounds so hard. All I know how to do on Photoshop is crop, rotate and adjust colour balance. Help me!

Stupid Olympics. Let me sleep!

I just finished watching the men's gymnastics competition and now I'm too worked up to sleep. Gymnasts aren't really my type (I prefer them tall and lanky) but their enthusiasm got to me. The Olympics are awesome! When else can you watch synchronized diving and badminton in the same day? I'm sad to report that Canada has not won a medal yet which is really embarrassing because even Uzbekistan and Turkey have one. Whatever, we'll show them at the winter Olympics. Did I ever mention that I participated in the Olympics? That's right, I was a cross-country skier in the Alberta Junior Winter Olympics. I came in...last! The second year I went I wasn't last but I was close to it. Let's just say that the Magrath Cross Country Club was not giving me the training I needed to be a world class athlete. So what sports are you watching? If Ryan didn't have to work, he'd be watching it 24/7 but I'm a little more discriminating.

"That's why I love elementary school, Edna. The children believe anything you tell them."

I'm finally a bona fide teacher again. I got my renewed license in the mail today and it was a great feeling. I was feeling badly about paying all that money, spending all that time and not being certified to teach. I thought I was going to be spending this summer in school paying someone a lot of money to finally get certified again but the Gods smiled down on me and the planets aligned making it possible for me to renew my license without taking anymore classes. I guess all that subbing and tutoring was good for more than money. Unfortunately I will probably spend the next year doing more subbing and tutoring because I thought we'd be moving and therefor didn't apply for any teaching positions. The trick to selling your house and moving is that you have to get someone to buy your house. Yes, lock that little tidbit of wisdom away for further reference because it's a gem. I'm going to soothe my frustration by drinking some diet Pepsi, eating some cheese popcorn and watching some Olympics.

Let's get the party started!

I just got home from a fabulous night out with the ladies. Me, Kristin, Tisa, Amanda and Karen (we all have blogs except for Karen who spends her abundant leisure time watching soaps and eating bonbons) went up to Park City to do some eating and outlet shopping. I'm starting to think outlets are a big scam but I did find a good deal on kids shoes at the Adidas outlet. I prefer to do my sale shopping at regular stores but we are there to socialize. Shopping is secondary. Karen had to stop at Walmart on her way home because really, what day is complete without a trip to Walmart. We were walking by the kids clothes when I spotted a shirt with kittens on it. I picked it up and realized it was the greatest shirt ever made.

BTW the cats are sparkly on it which makes it even better. I told Karen she should buy it because she hates cats. We laughed about it and then I said, "I will pay you $10 if you wear that shirt somewhere." She said that she would so I went back and bought the shirt which was on sale for the great price of two dollars. We were in the store laughing about all the places we could wear this shirt. The mall, the ward party, first day of work, etc. I told her I was going to put in on in the parking lot and she was going to take a picture of me in the "pussy shirt". This is the best $2 I have spent recently and this shirt is going to be showing up at a few functions where we have to say upon entering, "Let's get the party started!"

Waterton

I wanted to go to Waterton when we were home this time because it had been a couple of years since we were there. I knew the kids were old enough to do hikes and I wanted to climb Bear's Hump with them. We did the typical Waterton things, went to The Prince of Wales, ate at Zum's, had ice-cream and fed the squirrels at Cameron Falls. It was also a typical Waterton day, cold and windy, but as the day went on the weather improved.

Mom with all the grandkids at The Prince of Wales.

The obligatory Cameron Falls shot.

Hanna at the top of Bear's Hump.

Aww how romantic. Monti and Ryan sharing a moment.

I'm tired. That hike is a killer. Short but deadly.

Bear!


The squirrels were loving the Spitz Becky had us bring.

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The Wilde Family Reunion

Lorna Wilde


We Wildes live up to our name because it was one h*ll of a party. People were wearing next to nothing, smoking, drinking and swearing. Oh wait, that was the mud blog/monster truck rally I went to in Milk River with Becky. I get the two mixed up. This was the first time the entire Lorna and Kenneth Wilde family had been together since my grandma died 10 years ago. We had it at my grandma's farm in Welling, Alberta which my uncle now lives on. The highlight was seeing my most favourite cousin/fellow Magrath 92 graduate Chelle for the first time in years. Plus, Monti discovered kittens in the barn. KITTENS! IN A BARN! Is there anything cuter than that?

My grandpa on his mission in Tahiti. He's the short one.

The farm in the 1950's.

Cousins Beth and Grace taking a chance in the arm breaking tree.

My cousin Justin and his wife Karen. Look at the awesome bouncy castle my Uncle Roger rented.

This is us, the Cala-Lee (Wilde) Toly family.

All the girl cousins.
Lindsey, Chelle, Shea, Natalie, Hailey.
I'm the oldest and the shortest. My Grandma Wilde was 6"1' and my Grandpa Wilde was 5"3'. Guess whose genes I got?

I found this photo of the (alive at the time) cousins taken in 1980.
Jeremy, Chelle, Natalie, Monti, Jason, Brandon, Shea, Hailey, Justin, Chad
I wonder if my mom used a level to cut my bangs?

Vacation blog

I'm going to take the next week to blog about our vacation. It was a fabulous two weeks where I didn't have to do much because my mom graciously took care of my kids. No kids means it's party time 100% of the time. My brother is a teacher so he he gets to be in on the party also. Sadly Becky had to work this year so her party was not as fun. Thanks to everyone who made our vacation great.

There is a new candy shop in Lethbridge that we went to as soon as we could. I bought myself a licorice cigar because I loved these as a kid. And really, what child or adult doesn't enjoy a good cigar made of licorice?

My dad bought us Guitar Hero to go with our new Wii and the adults started a band, "Dr. Zeus."

"Hurry up and take the picture of my rockin' move! Oh the pain!"

I saw a bear!

I think I have some sort of magic bear mojo because I almost always see a bear when I'm in Waterton. Sure enough, as we were leaving yesterday we saw a bear. I didn't bring my cord to upload pictures but I'll post them when I get home. The pictures aren't great but if going to Waterton a zillion times has taught me anything, it's not to get close to a bear. Ryan kept saying "Go closer, closer. It's just a sweet little beary-bear. Don't worry, just a wee bit closer." I wonder why?